Driving along Mexico’s Caribbean Coast, I was amazed at all the construction taking place, especially on the Riviera Maya. Major improvements on highways, access roads, and city centers are transforming areas that I last saw as little as six months ago.

On the Riviera Maya, from Cancún down to Tulúm, the coastal highway has been upgraded. Beach towns like Puerto Morelos and Akumal now have overpasses…Playa del Carmen is getting one, too. These overpasses let traffic head directly down the coast, while tourists and locals take access roads into town and to the beach.

In Tulúm, the southern point of the Riviera Maya, I watched workmen lay out a zig-zagging cobblestone sidewalk for a new town center, making room for the new shops, restaurants and other commercial enterprises. The new downtown will be only a short distance from the current downtown, with its mix of traditional mom-and-pop shops and homes. But the look and feel is likely to be very different. Expats in the area tell me that the “old” downtown is not going away—rather, the downtown is expanding in preparation for Tulúm’s expected growth.

The main reason Tulúm expects to grow so dramatically is the new international airport that will be built just outside town. Mexico formally opened the bidding process for building and managing the airport just last month. But the project has been talked about for years.

Highway 307 Playa del Carmen to Tulum Overpasses

The new airport is expected to handle three million passengers even in its early phases. It won’t be open for some time—construction won’t likely start until 2011—but clearly Tulúm is already preparing.

Right now property prices in Tulúm are still relatively low, at least off the beach. In town, for instance, you can still find small basic condos in the low $100,000s. But with upscale tourism marching steadily down the coast—and with the new airport now a certainty—prices seem likely to rise. If you’re looking for bargains in Tulúm, you’d best head there soon.

If you’re looking for an affordable Caribbean retreat, Tulum is one of three areas that offer great potential right now. (The others are Bacalar and the Costa Maya).

This article has been republished from International Living. Beach Real Estate in Tulum, Riviera Maya, Mexican Caribbean.